If you're used to organizing notes with files and folders, Capacities can feel different at first.

The important shift is this: you don't decide where a note should live. You decide what kind of thing it is and what it's connected to. In Capacities, that means object types and links.

Why folders become difficult

Folders seem simple at first, but they ask you to decide a home for every note.

Each time you create something, you choose a place. Over time that gets heavy: Projects or Archive? This topic or that client? Status or subject?

Folders are flexible when you set them up, but rigid once they exist. A file has one home, even when it would make sense in several places. You spend time deciding where something goes, and later you have to remember that decision to find it again.

Many people end up relying on search anyway. That is a sign that folder trees are a weak fit for thinking work.

How Capacities organizes notes

Capacities is built around objects and object types, not files and folders.

Every note is an object, and every object has a type. Your first question is "What kind of note is this?"

• A meeting note becomes a Meeting object
• A person becomes a Person object
• A book note becomes a Book object
• A general note becomes a page

Object types do more than group notes. They give content shared structure. If you create a Meeting type, every meeting can have the same properties, such as date and attendees. You don't rebuild that shape each time.

Your second question is "What should this connect to?" Use links with @ or [[]], tags for themes that cross types, and queries for live lists. A meeting can sit in the Meeting type, carry a life-area tag, and link to a project, all at once.

Tags

If folders answered "Where does this belong?", tags answer "What is this related to?"

Tags work well for topics and life areas because one note can have several. Pin the tags you open often if you want the same quick access you used to get from root folders.

Use tags for themes across different kinds of content. For status inside one type (Reading, In progress, Done), prefer a label or another property on that type, then a query. See Status folders below.

For tags in a writing workflow, see Capacities for writing.

Links instead of filing

When you are writing a project brief and need a related meeting, person, or weblink, link it into the note. Context stays next to the work. Over time you get a network of connections instead of a tree of storage locations.

Any note can gather related materials with links, backlinks, and queries on the page. You open one note and see what you need, instead of clicking into a folder and then into subfolders.

Daily notes

Your daily note is a place to capture ideas and unfinished thoughts without choosing a permanent home first. You can link or turn things into typed objects when you are ready.

Translating your folders

If you are moving from a folder-based tool, you do not need to recreate the whole tree. For each important folder, ask what job it had. The interactive examples and the sections below cover the usual jobs.

Collections can group items by hand within one object type when you want a curated list. When membership follows a clear rule, prefer a query. Query results stay live and update when new objects match.

Folders of one kind

Job: Hold everything of the same kind (People, Meetings, Books).

In folders: a People folder with one file per person.

In Capacities: an object type. The sidebar already lists each type. Shared properties (for example Company or Last contact) apply to every object of that type.

Create or open the type that matches the noun, add the properties you always need, and create new notes as objects of that type. You do not need a parallel People folder made of tags or nested pages. The type is the list.

If you are unsure whether something needs its own type, see When to create a new object type.

Life areas and themes

Job: Top-level filing for Work, Health, Home, or similar areas.

In folders: root folders that put each note in one silo.

In Capacities: tags, pinned if you open them often. A note can relate to more than one area. Tasks and projects often cross life areas; tags allow that.

Create a tag for each area or theme, pin the ones you use daily, and tag notes from any type. More detail: Tags.

Folders of mixed materials

Job: Gather different kinds of notes under one name (a project, a class, a trip).

In folders: one folder with briefs, meetings, PDFs, and ideas nested inside. Related work stays hidden until you open the folder.

In Capacities: pick one note as the home for that work and link related materials to it. Add a query on the page when you want a recurring list, for example meetings linked to this project.

The same PDF can help two projects because it is linked, not moved into a single folder. Prefer linking related notes over nesting many subpages only to tidy the sidebar.

See also PARA in Capacities and Networked note-taking.

Nested topic trees

Job: Browse topics as folders inside folders.

In folders:

• Cooking
  • Baking
    • Sourdough starter
    • Weekend focaccia
  • Weeknight dinners

In Capacities: a Recipe object type, a label for the subtopic (Baking, Weeknight), and a query for that label. Every note at the bottom is still a recipe, so one type is enough. Link a recipe to other notes when it also relates to other themes.

1. Create a Recipe object type.
2. Add a label property for the subtopic.
3. Save a query filtered to Recipe where the label is Baking.

The same idea applies to other trees. Ask what sits at the bottom:

• If those notes are all the same sort of content (recipes, lecture notes, definitions), use one type, a label for the subtopic, and a query.
• If each level is a different sort of thing (for example a course and a lecture, each with their own properties), use related types linked with an object-select property. Open the parent for backlinks, or query children filtered by parent.

More detail: Object properties and Queries.

Smart or filtered folders

Job: Always show items that match rules (books finished this year, open projects, meetings with a work tag).

In folders: a smart folder that lists matching files.

In Capacities: a query. Results stay live and update when new objects match.

Example: books finished this year

• Type = Book
• Finished on = this year (a relative date, not a fixed calendar year)

You can build a similar list by hand with a collection inside one object type. Prefer a query whenever filters can define membership.

More detail: Queries and Queries in practice.

Status folders

Job: Keep a working set inside a bigger pile (Reading now, Needs review, In progress).

In folders: status subfolders that you move files between.

In Capacities: a label or status property on the type, then a query. Sometimes it is clearer to use separate types (for example Goals and Projects), each with status, and queries for what is in progress.

Example: Reading now

• Type = Book
• Status = Reading

You might also keep queries such as Projects where Status = In progress, and Goals where Status = In progress.

Change the status on the object instead of moving it between folders. A collection still works for a hand-picked shortlist; a status query is usually the better default.

More detail: Queries in practice.

FAQ

• Are object types just folders with a different name?
  No. Folders are storage locations. Object types define what kind of content something is, group it automatically, and can give it structure through properties and layouts.
• Should I use tags instead of folders?
  Often yes, for topics and themes that cross types. Folders that held one kind of note (all meetings) map better to an object type. Status folders inside one kind of note map better to a label or property plus a query.
• How do I recreate my old folder structure?
  You usually should not recreate it as a tree. Ask what each folder was doing, then use the sections above: one kind of content → object type; theme across kinds → tag; mixed materials under one name → one note with links; smart or status lists → query.
• What should I use object types for?
  Recurring kinds of content with a shared structure, such as meetings, projects, books, people, or ideas. See When to create a new object type if you are unsure.
• What should I use tags for?
  Themes and topics that span different kinds of content. Pin the tags you open as often as you used to open root folders.
• When should I use a collection instead of a query?
  When you want a hand-curated group within one object type and no simple rule covers membership. Prefer a query when filters can define the list. See When should I use a query instead of a collection?.
• Do I still need search?
  Yes. Search works together with object types, tags, and links. You are not depending on one exact path to find a note again.

Where to go next

• How do I structure information instead of using folders?: shorter overview
• When to create a new object type: when to split types
• Queries and Queries in practice: live lists
• PARA in Capacities: projects and areas
• Networked note-taking: linking
• Tags: themes across types
• Organizational structures: how the building blocks fit together
• Capacities for writing: tags and links in practice